Easy DIY Kids Art Display: Simple, Inexpensive, & No Damage!

My son is in Pre-K. That means he brings home A LOT of arts and crafts. Like a ton, everyday. Plus, we frequently get our craft on here at home too.

While I love seeing all of his adorable creations, we didn’t really have a way to show them off or give them the recognition they deserve (especially since my husband has a strong aversion to clutter on the fridge). So, they all ended up stowed away in an old Amazon box in a closet. Whomp, whomp.

However, since I’m currently turning our office into the craft room of my dreams, I thought it would be the perfect space to create a little kids art display area. I wanted it to be easy (to both set up and to swap out artwork), inexpensive, and not create a bunch of holes in the wall.

The dowels came from Home Depot and were the 5/16″ x 48″ size (they have a dusty rose-colored end). Best part: they were less than a buck a piece! I picked up some black Command Hooks at Walmart (they were less than $3 for a two-pack), and since they were out of black curtain clips (boo), I bought a bag of 36 from Amazon.

I thought this would be the perfect easier, less expensive, and damage-free alternative to using actual curtain rods.

Cutting the Dowels to Size

Since this art display would be on a side wall next to the window in my craft room, I needed to trim the dowels down to size first. I headed out to the garage and grabbed a pruning saw (it was the first saw I spotted) and it took care of the task in no time….but my husband simply cannot understand why I would use this tool for this job. The dowels are like branches! And it worked great, so there.

Side note: Home Depot has a cart in their lumber department with hand saws that you are free to use (mine has theirs in the same aisle as the dowels). If you need to cut your dowels and know the size, you can trim them to size while you’re there. I don’t plan that far ahead though. :)

Painting the Dowels

After I trimmed (and lightly sanded) the dowels, I brought them back inside and gave them a couple light coats of black craft paint.

Now it was time for installation!

Hanging the Hooks & Dowels

Normally, I would have my husband assist me in something like this, just to make sure everything was even and level. However, on this particular day, he was out with my older son having a Daddy/Rowan Date, and when my younger son went down for his nap, I was feeling antsy and decided to dive into this on my own….and luckily it worked out!

I first slipped a couple clips on each dowel and hung up some artwork that was close by, just to get the spacing between the dowels right (use a ruler too!). Each dowel was held in place with some painters tape, and I marked the ends of each with small pencil marks.

Once I was happy with the placement of the dowels, I got to hanging their Command Hooks. Here, I carefully peeled away the painters tape from one end (being mindful to keep the dowel levelish), then pretty much just eye-balled where to stick the hooks based on the pencil markings I had made earlier.

Everything could have gone downhill fast at this point, but luckily I didn’t screw it up! My husband was very surprised by this too.

Adding a Personalized Family Art Gallery Sign

At this point, the art display itself was complete, but everyone knows a true art gallery needs a fancy sign! Plus, I’m addicted to vinyl and personalized things, so I combined these two loves of mine into a family sign to hang above our *amazing* artwork.

At first, I had it saying “Fine Art Gallery” but then I thought….let’s be real here. Ain’t no Picassos in this family….which is perfectly fine.

Our Completed Kids Art Display

And here’s our completed kids art display (with cheeky personalized sign) in all its glory! I am SO happy with how it turned out (and not just because I did it all completely on my own….*pats self on the back*).

Walking into the room and seeing all of my oldest’s adorable creations just makes my heart smile. It’s so easy to swap out the art as he creates new masterpieces, and I can’t wait until my youngest gets a little older and starts making some of his own.

The art display and sign coordinate nicely with the colorful gallery wall that’s adjacent to them. Plus, it’s just to the left of our kids’ arts & craft station that’s in front of the window, so it’s super simple to add new creations to our Wall of Fame. And preschool’s never-ending pipeline of adorable art will undoubtedly continue to add to our supply as well.

When it’s time to add/remove clips, all I have to do is simply lift up a dowel and get to sliding. And when the time comes for us to remove the entire display (if my kids lose that creative feeling….*sniff*), then we can just remove the Command Hooks and there’s no damage left behind on the wall. Woot!

An easy, inexpensive, and no damage DIY home improvement project (that also happens to melt your heart). You can’t beat that.

Before & After

Here’s a little Before & After shot of this space. I think it fits in nicely, and makes this momma super sappy. Now I need to get my butt in gear and finish (errrr, start) the project I’ve been planning for the rest of the wall up top….stay tuned! :)

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